If you uproot an old failing oak without plans to plant something in its absence, you’ll be left with a big hole and no shade.
Edit: Maybe I’m agreeing with some of what was said and I’m misunderstood. Either way, I agree with understanding demand as it relates to a planned economy.
There’s an few distinctions about American culture as it relates to car culture.
America had/has a lot of land
Much of this is/was vastly underdeveloped right outside of urban hubs, unlike Europe/related which benefits from a tighter interconnected network of cities that more immediately benefit from mass transit systems
In the US post-WWII middle class and privileged were often sold an idea of peaceful suburban lifestyles away from urbanized areas
Car manufacturers marketed this successfully as a way to encourage families away from city life and thus build a more solid reliance on their vehicles
City planning was therefore often built around a suburban-city sprawl rather than a cohesive urban community designed around efficiency